"I'm Tumbleweed, but most just call me Tumble. What brings you two to the valley? I came here for the food, what with it being dry season and all, but the river's barely more than a trickle." Tumble appraised the lion sitting before her, glancing at his somewhat unruly mane, and the few small scars that littered his pelt. He seemed older than her, but not by more than a few years or so. The other, slightly smaller male was much quieter, hanging back a little. The grey-black male stepped forward, making sure to give her room, and Tumble was soon eating across from the two males. "And your name? I haven't really seen a lion with your kind of markings before."

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While he waited for her response Ahmen dug in. Finally! A meal! His stomach suffered enough. The dark lion ate fast and messy. He made sure to leave enough meat for everyone, that would be rude and his mother taught him better. Satisfied Ahmen sat on his back legs, licking away any remains of the meal on his muzzle.

"Tumbleweed is a cute name, I'd prefer to use your given". Now that she mentioned it, he could see the resemblance to the dry plant. All that yellow but it was fitting. "I've been travelling for a while now. At times alone, other times with a group. The valley was just another spot not visited." He hasn't been in the valley long but he quite enjoyed the dryer weather. I was different from home.

"I go by Ahmen". Tumbleweed statement of his appearance, the dark lion gave himself a once over, scanning his body. "Yea I was just born like this. We thought it would fade away but they stayed." Noticing now, he did look different from the other two. "Must be a trait from where I'm from. I was born North in the colder lands".

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"Thanks. I'm not the biggest fan of the nickname, but it's stuck, ever since my first hunt." Tumbleweed laughed, but anger flashed in her eyes, just for a moment. She pulled one of the legs off the antelope, making sure there would be enough for the other male. Ahmen definitely ate fast. "The north? I'm surprised. Don't get many lions from up there. Did it get really cold in the winter?" Tumbleweed felt herself relax, beginning to enjoy chatting with Ahmen. Small talk usually wasn't her cup of tea, but it was nice to have a conversation over a good meal.

//just in case I didn't explain it very good, she was called Tumble as an insult after she tripped over her own paws during her first hunt, and got driven out bc of the failure. She just uses it because it's shorter, and she hasn't really stuck around any other lions for very long

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With his huger quelled at the moment, Ahmen got into a more comfortable position. Laying leisurely on his side as he moved from licking his muzzle to cleaning his paws. The moment was nice, surrounded by new company and the beauty of the night; he felt at ease.

The conversation was venturing towards home though he didn't mind. It would be nice to reminisce. "It does, cold enough it snows and some rivers will freeze and you can walk across it". Ahmen voice grew softer, recounting the times. "One time I walked onto a river not fully frozen and get this. I fell in!". He laughed. "I pulled myself out but I was shaking and chattering like a hyena. I even got sick from that".

How long has it been since he left home? Two years or more? Where had the time gone...He licked his chest to distract him from the sadder thoughts. Redirecting the flow, "So where are you from Tumbleweed?"

(omg i love character lore. also this gonna be my last post for the night. this was fun, rp with you later! ciao )

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Mistletoe awoke from her nap at the sound of other lions. She shook some of the dirt from her thick coat as she sat up. Stretching out her body she let out a short sleepy growl before standing up. She spotted two lions, a male and a female, a short distance from where she had been napping.

She stalked closer, staying out of sight as her attention was pulled away from them onto some prey. Glancing back at the lions she decided to hunt for food before she did anything else. It was a small prey, definitely won't fill her but it was better than nothing.

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Tumbleweed stretched, enjoying the feel of grass clumping between her toes. Even in dry season, dew could collect on the grass at night. She also lay down, grooming some of the prey-blood from her chest as she listened to Ahmen. It seemed so strange that rivers could freeze over, all that moving water just stopping. And snow! Tumbleweed had only ever seen it on the peaks of the highest mountains, and even then, it melted quickly.

When Ahmen reached the part about falling in the river, Tumbleweed laughed, eyes widening. Imagining the large, somewhat imposing male flailing around on the bank brought an amused smile to her muzzle. A slight breeze blew by, causing Tumbleweed to shiver a little as Ahmen brought up Tumbleweed's homeland. It brought back memories...

"My birth pride lived on a large plateu, high up in the mesa to the east. The wind was always blowing, sometimes strong enough to push a carcass off the side. As cubs, we'd sometimes manage to catch small bugs and wait until the wind was blowing, only to release them and watch them go flying" Tumbleweed smiled at the memory. "Our pride was pretty small, with prey usually not wandering into our hunting grounds, but we got by well enough. I do remember eating a lot of warthog every dry season. Still can't stand it." Tumbleweed playfully wrinkled her muzzle.

"It got pretty hot in the summer, so we would spend some time in caves during the afternoon, to get away from the heat. Winter was actually one of our milder seasons, we got plenty of rain." Tumbleweed yawned, licking some leftover prey-blood from her nose. It was getting a bit late, but Tumbleweed didn't want the conversation to end. It was nice to talk with another lion for a while.

//This'll also be my last post, I should've gone to sleep earlier lol but this was fun

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This moment felt as if Ahmen would remember it forever. The low light of the moon casted a soft glow amongst the lounging lions. The small insects sounding their buzz were drowned out by the group voices. Ahmen ears were up and alert, not focusing on the environment but rather her voice. He was immersed with Tumbleweed’s storytelling. The picture of a carcass sliding and turning along the ground from fierce winds brought a chuckle out of him. The land was not to be messed with. He snorted at the funny moments and nodded along.

A thought bubbled into his mind. You can take the lion out of his home but you can’t take the home out of the lion. “You know, you’ve certainly made your birth pride proud.” The dark lion paused to collect his thoughts. “Even now during this dry season you managed to still catch prey. Ahmen flashed the lioness a toothy grin. “It’s admirable really.!”

As the night progressed the air grew chillier. The biting winds ruffling into his fur. They’d have to find shelter soon. He let out a yawn. And some sleep.

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Tumbleweed smiled, purring at Ahmen's praise. The males from her old pride would've never praised her like that, they probably would've asked why she hadn't brought down the antelope's mother. "Thanks. I really appreciate that." Tumbleweed's thoughts began to wander towards sleep, and shelter, and judging by Ahmen's yawn, he thought the same. The other male next to him also seemed tired, shivering slightly in the suddenly chilly wind.

Casting a glance up to the sky, Tumbleweed noticed the sun had long sense set, the inky black sky now filled with stars, stretching out across the distant expanse like a spider's web. She smiled back at Ahmen once more, before getting to her paws, yawning as she did so. Flexing her paws, she looked over the valley, seeing if any caves or sheltered nooks would stand out.

At first glance, she didn't notice anything, but on the second glance she noticed not a cave, but another lioness, seemingly busy hunting. Tumbleweed looked back over at Ahmen, but didn't look like he noticed. Oddly enough, Tumbleweed found herself wanting to lead him away from the other lioness. With a flick of her tail, she turned, grinning back at Ahmen as she moved in the opposite direction of the other lioness, hoping that there was at least a couple large boulders that they could shelter behind, to get out of the wind.

//last post for the night, have to wake up early sadly. Gn all

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Mistletoe glanced over, spotting the other two lions heading in the opposite direction. She moved back to the small patch of grass she napped on earlier, deciding she would just stay here for tonight before she left in the morning to go searching for a pride.

She stretched out, yawning as she slowly lay down. She rolled onto her back to stretch some more before rolling onto her side, closing her eyes and slowly drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Tomorrow she would hopefully find a pride, if not she would keep heading West until she found someone who would take her in.

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//sorry I haven't replied in a while :)

Lunar looked between Tumbleweed and Ahmen - perhaps sensing that the two wanted to be left alone. Slowly he walked over to Ahmen and, not wanting to disturb the two, whisper in his ear:

"You can invite her into our pride if you want."

He remembered Tumbleweed's odd behavior from before and turned his head in the other direction. Squinting, he noticed a young lioness sitting in a small patch of grass. He smirked and slowly sneaked towards her. Arrived before the sleeping lioness he stood tall over her.

"Hey, what are you doing sleeping alone with no lion about?"

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Mistletoe's ear twitched as she lifted her head. "It's just me." She shrugged. "My name is Mistletoe." She sat up, introducing herself. She shook her thick coat as she yawned. Maybe he will let her into his pride, it would be nice to not have to run around finding someone.

"I was stopping here for the evening before I went looking for a pride." She explained, flicking bugs off with her tail. "it's been harder recently to find someone who will take me in." She chuckled a hint of sadness behind it.

//I may be active all night, I slept for a while today, and that normally messes with me during the night

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Tumbleweed watched Lunar bound off, before turning her gaze to Ahmen. He looked majestic in the moonlight, a chilly breeze ruffling his dark fur, amber eyes pointed towards the sky. Sure, they had gotten along well over prey, but Tumbleweed had seen lions do all kinds of things to get a bite to eat. And besides, both Ahmen and Lunar likely shared a pride, or had rides of their own. And Tumbleweed knew what happened when she tried to join prides.

Either the lionesses took a disliking to her, and set an impossible hunt trial, or the male would drive her out after she failed to bring back prey. It wasn't usually her fault, bad weather, an animal that wasn't already weakened by her then pridemates. And time and time again, it was her rather plain, dusty gold looking pelt that made males turn up their muzzles and chase her off.

Snapping out of her reverie, she returned to scanning the valley. They would still need some shelter for tonight, but she should no doubt begin to plan where she would make her way to next, when the surely inevitable happened and she was driven out.

//Oh no, hope you can get at least some more sleep, that must be bad, especially on a week night.

I might be here until rollover, not entirely sure

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The day had taken most of Ahmen's energy. The heat of it was gone and now his body felt sluggish. Honestly he could of fell asleep right now if not for the cold. He gave a shake of his mane, hoping the movement would warm him up some.

Ear's flickering at Tumbleweed's word, he let out a low purr. More like like a deep grumble in his chest. Good! He was glad she recognized his genuine regard. But just as it started it quickly ceased as Lunar approached. It would be a bit embarrassing to be witnessed in a surprising soft moment. "Oh! Yea that sounds good", Ahmen replied. The pale lioness has caught his attention, it wouldn't hurt to get to know them better.

His attention was quickly taken over by something new. The smile sent his way, transfixed with the gracefulness of her movement. The tom shook his head, he needed to focus on finding a warm place. And spending more time with Tumble sounded pleasing. He made his way to the lioness, tail flickering out of nervousness. "You wouldn't mind if we searched for a place to sleep together? Two pairs of eyes are better than one you know."

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"I wouldn't mind. It is getting pretty cold out." As if to prove Tumbleweed's point, the wind picked up slightly, cold air cutting through her shorter coat. "Should we look down over by those trees?" She motioned towards the small grove with a paw. "Something more solid would be nice, but at least there'll be some underbrush to make nests out of." The cold was starting to get to Tumbleweed a little by now. In her travels, she had stuck mostly to the southeast, where any wind was a welcome relief from the hot sun.

But that clearly wasn't the case here. Tumbleweed flicked her tail, signaling for Ahmen to follow as she lept down the hillside towards the grove, still keeping an eye out for any potential shelter. If worst came to worst, she was sure that they could try to dig a shallow hole, but that was definitely last on her list of options to try. She couldn't see any decent caves, or even burrows from where she was, so she looked to Amen for information. The male had likely been in the valley for longer than she had, and maybe he knew a good spot.

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Lunar looked down at the lioness, noticing her unusual pelt colour - it somehow reminded him of the night sky with hints of purple, blue, pink and white mixed in. He immediately saw the sadness in her eyes as she spoke. He didn't like how the lioness was planning to sleep alone this night. It was cold and sleeping alone was not safe. He wouldn't mind inviting her to join the pride - but of course he would have to ask Ahmen first - he was his friend and an important part of the pride after all. He turned around and smiled at the lioness

"Hey you - wait here okay? I'll be right back."

He ran over to where Ahmen and Tumbleweed were still talking. He overheard the last bit.

"-at least there'll be some underbrush to make a nest out of"

His face lit up- a place to rest! Of course! Ahmen must have asked Tumbleweed if she wanted to join the pride! She seemed super nice and he was glad that the two seemed to have become friends already!

"Oh hi guys! I know a good spot actually, it's not far from here - west - but I actually wanted to ask you something else..."

He looked to Ahmen, he didn't doubt his friend's decision was going to be similar to his thoughts but Tumbleweed.. she didn't seem to like the other lioness that much. He understood why - but as a pride member, she should also be part of making the decision. He straightened his shoulders and spoke:

"There's a lone lioness - over there - and she seemed quite sad. I think - she doesn't need to part of the pride yet or anything - I think it would be nice if we let her sleep with us. It's a cold night tonight and sleeping alone isn't very safe. I was about to lead her to the spot - but I wanted to ask you guys first, you're all part of the pride after all."

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